Bicycle



W. S. JOHNSON. BICYCLE.

1 No. 477,122. Patented June 14, 1892.

(No Model.)

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

W'ARREN S. JOHNSON, OF MILIVAUKEE, \VISGONSIN.

BICYCLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 477,122, dated June 14, 1892.

Application filed July 18,1891.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WARREN S. JOHNSON, of Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State of lVisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bicycles, &c., of which the following is a specification.

The aim of my invention is to relieve the riders of bicycles, tricycles, and analogous machines from the very disagreeable vibration and tremor which is transmitted from the frame to the seat when the machine is traveling over an irregular surface. To this end I introduce between the saddle and the frame a pneumatic support consisting of a collapsible sack or chamber filled with air or other elastic fluid. In this manner I am enabled to retain the usual saddle with all its advantages as regards shape, comfort, and coolness, and at the same time to absorb or neutralize the vibrations, so that the saddle is carried with a smooth and easy action. The sack orchamber may be varied in form and details of construetion to suit peculiarities in the seat or frame with which it is used.

In the drawings I have shown my invention in connection with an ordinary saddle and rod, such as are commonly used on bicycles of the present day.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section on line 1 1. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section on the line 2 2. Figs. 3, 4:, and 5 are detail views of alternative constructions.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a saddle consisting of a pliable sheet or saddle proper suspended upon and between the end springs a, secured to the plate a I3 is a second plate lying beneath plate (6 and secured by its socket Z) and setscrew b to the top of the usual seat-sustainin g red O, rising from the frame of the vehicle and commonly known as the L-rod.

D is a sheet of pliable india-rubber or like material impervious to air cemented or vulcanized tightly to the edges of the plates c and B and forming a continuous connection between them, so that the plates and the rub ber form jointly a tight compressible chamber or sack, which is filled with air, gas, or other elastic fluid at any pressure desired. The compressible chamber and the contained fluid serve as an elastic support by which the sad erial No. 399,955. (No model.)

dle is carried smoothly and practically without vibration under all circumstances. If preferred, the chamber may be made wholly of pliable material in the form of a flat sack, as shown in Fig. 3, or an annular sack, as in Fig. 4:, or in any other form adapted to sustain the saddle, which may of course be secured thereto in any manner within the range of mechanical skill.

In order to prevent excessive horizontal play of the saddle, guides of an y suitable form may be nsedsuch, for example, as the link E, Figs. 1 and 2, jointed to the top and bottom plates. The best results are obtained when the cushioning-chamber is constructed to permit a greater vertical play at the rear than at the front. \Vhile it is preferred to use a single chamber or sack, it may be sub divided into two or more chambers or separate chambers used under opposite ends of the plates, as shown in Fig. 5.

It is to be observed that my pneumatic sup port or cushion is not a saddle or seat to give direct support to the rider. It is, on the contrary, a support for the saddle, which may be made in all respects of any ordinary or approved form.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination of a springsupported bicyclesaddle complete in itself, a support therefor, and an intermediate compressible sack or chamber filled with an elastic fluid between the base of the saddle and its sup port, the said sack or chamber increasing in thickness toward the rear, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination of the saddle and its base-plate, a supporting-plate adapted to be attached to the frame of the bicycle, and a flexible sheet secured at its edges to the two plates to form a collapsible chamber, substantially as shown and described.

The combination of the seat-supporting plate B, provided with means for attaching it to the frame of a bicycle or similar machine, the base-plate a a collapsible chamber filled with elastic fluid between said plates, the saddle A, and the springs between the saddle and its base-plate, substantially as shown and described.

at. In combination with a bicycle-saddle, a

collapsible supporting-chamber filled with air orother elastic fluid and means, substantially as described, to limit the longitudinal movement of the saddle.

5. A support for a bicycle-saddle, consisting of a pneumatic sack adapted in form to fit beneath the saddle and divided internally into non-communicating chambers.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand, this 3d day of July, 1891, in the presence 10 of two attesting witnesses.

V WARREN S. JOHNSON. \Vitnesses:

L. F. FISH,

O. W. TANK. 

